They are adorable tho – I know I didn’t get really great pictures – but it’s kind of hard to get them to stand still!

I love that the babies [...]]]>

The other day, I went to see how our new little chicks are doing. There were 5 of them, but hubby says one didn’t make it. So sad.

They are adorable tho – I know I didn’t get really great pictures – but it’s kind of hard to get them to stand still!

I love that the babies got on the mama’s back. I was just able to catch this shot.

Maybe I’ll get the chance to catch them again

You can buy beets in the grocery store, or if you are lucky enough to have a friend or husband who farms, you can get fresh beets from him/them.

These are from our [...]]]>

One of our favorite recipes is Harvard Beets. Today I’d like to provide the recipe and show you how to make them from scratch.

You can buy beets in the grocery store, or if you are lucky enough to have a friend or husband who farms, you can get fresh beets from him/them.

These are from our farm and the dirt washed off

The greenery is cut off - leaving about an inch of stem still on the beets

The whole beets are put into a pot, covered with water

Bring the water to a boil, and then simmer for about an hour

Pour out the hot water and replace with cold, probably about twice, so the beets cool down.

Cut the top, and bottom off, and peel the skin - it will come off very easily

The beets I am working on, are for our freezer for during the winter. So I had two bushel baskets of beets to cook and peel.

This is what the beets look like after peeling

In my case, I always slice the beets and put them in quart sized zip lock bags for the freezer. The two bushed baskets full, make 20 quarts.

Sliced beets

These are the 20 quarts in the freezer

At this point when getting ready for the recipe, I would take a bag out of the freezer and let them sit on the counter until almost defrosted. Put them in a colander and rinse them with cold water.

Harvard Beets

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon of butter
beets

Because I use a lot more beets I double the recipe.

Mix the sugar and cornstarch together in a pot, then add the vinegar. Stir and heat until clear. Add the butter and the beets, and heat until hot and syrup is thickened.

Serve!

Ready to eat

Sandi

I’ve written in the past that my cactus looked like it was getting ready to bloom. Boy was I excited!!

Then I walked to the mailbox, and saw this:

Industrial little [...]]]>

I was walking down the driveway, to take my packages to my mailbox, and I saw this:

I’ve written in the past that my cactus looked like it was getting ready to bloom. Boy was I excited!!

Then I walked to the mailbox, and saw this:

Industrial little ants…

Take for example my prickly pear cactus. I mentioned this in a recent post, that a cactus that our friend gave us was now showing signs of possible [...]]]>

My husband often tells me that I’m not very observant. And that’s probably true. I tend to focus on what I’m seeing, and not seeing other things around me.

Take for example my prickly pear cactus. I mentioned this in a recent post, that a cactus that our friend gave us was now showing signs of possible blossoms.

So every day I go out and look at my cactus to see if its blooming yet. It’s supposed to bloom between April and June. But alas, I’m not seeing any flowers.

When I went out yesterday to look – my eyes looked to the left (for some reason) and I saw a baby cactus! Well I know that the prickly pear shoots out roots to other places and sprouts new plants. I wonder why I never saw it before. Again that tendency to focus on a specific item.

I wonder how long it’s been there and I never saw it! I looked all around the little hill among the trees to see if there were any more. Not for now.

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